18 July 2002

Dear Friends,

Yesterday Festival of Light held a briefing for pastors about the SA government proposal to introduce a law against religious discrimination and vilification. Such a law could later have a devastating impact on our religious freedom, and the time allowed for submissions is very short – they must be in by 31 July.

Keynote speaker Bishop John Hepworth explained that Australia is following a trend in Western nations to limit religious freedom by such laws. The Swedish parliament, for example, recently passed an amendment to their constitution which, if passed again after the next election, would prohibit any public preaching that homosexual behaviour is wrong. Bishop Hepworth said it is likely that this ban could extend to the Bible itself – that Sweden could make it illegal to publish or sell Bibles containing passages such as those in Romans and Leviticus which condemn homosexual acts.

Dr David Phillips showed how anti-discrimination laws, which followed Australia’s adoption of United Nations conventions in the early 1980s, have persuaded people to think of discrimination as a bad thing. However the Bible teaches that discrimination (or discernment) can be a good thing. Solomon for example desired wisdom – the gift of discernment or discrimination – above all others. He wanted the ability to choose what is good and to reject what is bad.

Yet this is precisely what laws against religious discrimination say we must not do. Under such laws, a Christian man who runs a small business may not choose employees who share his faith and values. Another speaker, Dr Philip Burcham, pointed out how unfair such a law would be. Can you imagine SA Premier Mike Rann employing a strong Liberal supporter as his personal assistant? Of course not! He will, naturally, only feel comfortable with a Labor supporter in such a position of trust. So why does he want to ban discrimination based on religious belief – which in many ways is similar to political belief? A law against religious discrimination would take away the freedom of association of Christians – but not that of politicians.

I explained what has happened in Victoria recently, under their new Racial and Religious Tolerance Act which bans racial and religious vilification. This law, like the one proposed for SA, uses the tribunal rather than the court system. Under the court system, a complaint to police results in prosecution only if there is clear first-hand evidence that a crime has been committed. The person against whom the complaint is made is considered innocent unless proved guilty in court.

However in the “Equal Opportunity” tribunal system, anyone can make a complaint – which can be based on hearsay or feelings – and the Equal Opportunity Commissioner must pursue it unless it is trivial. The accused must then prove himself innocent of the complaint. Even if the complaint is later dismissed as baseless, the accused receives no compensation.

The effect of this new law in Victoria – proclaimed in January this year – quickly became apparent. In March, a Christian group held a seminar on Islam in a Melbourne church. A Christian from Pakistan with expert knowledge of Islam, explained the meaning of Islam’s holy books – the Qur’an and the Hadith. Three Muslims attended parts of the seminar and took notes. Their distorted and inaccurate account formed the basis of a formal complaint under the new law by the Islamic Council of Victoria. An article by Andrew Bolt in the Herald Sun (30/5/02, p 19) covers some of the unfair claims against the seminar.

The two men against whom the complaint was made have since spent many hours attempting to prove themselves innocent. If they fail, they risk serious fines. If they succeed, they receive no compensation for their time, effort or legal expenses. In contrast, the Islamic Council of Victoria has nothing to lose – it simply had to make a complaint.

Peter and Jenny Stokes of Salt Shakers in Melbourne say Victorian pastors are now reporting that some people are attending services – not to worship – but to monitor what is said. Are we heading for a state of fear, under “thought police”?

Festival of Light field officer David d’Lima urged pastors to inform their people of what is happening, and to take the opportunity to write to Attorney-General Michael Atkinson and to talk to the head of their church and their local Member of Parliament.

Pastors who attended the briefing received action kits including the 17 page government discussion paper on the proposed new law; a draft response to the discussion paper; the Herald Sun article by Andrew Bolt; a resource paper on religious freedom; an order form for an audiotape of the briefing and an action sheet (see attachment below).

This matter is urgent – the closing date for submissions is 31 July. Please feel free to send this email to others.

God bless!

ROS

Mrs Roslyn Phillips, B Sc Dip Ed Research Officer, Festival of Light 4th Floor, 68 Grenfell Street, Adelaide South Australia 5000 Email

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